The Electronic Entertainment Expo starts on Tuesday, and the biggest companies in video games will be making news all week. The Los Angeles Convention Center will be the launch point for some of the biggest games of the next year (check out the slideshow below), and upcoming titles for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U will determine the future of "current gen" gaming.

New Titles for the New SystemsSony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are all working hard to sell their newest game consoles, and that means exclusives. Nintendo will be showing off Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS and Wii U, which is one of the most anticipated games on Nintendo's slate. It's holding an invitational tournament for the game to show it off at the show, with dozens of fighting game enthusiasts competing in front of thousands of fans months before it comes out.

Many are still hoping Nintendo will announce some new characters that remain absent from the roster, like Solid Snake, Bayonetta, or Wonder Red. Nintendo will also reveal more about Hyrule Warriors, the Dynasty Warriors-like action game that takes place in Hyrule. Besides those two titles, expect some news regarding Nintendo's biggest properties, and word of a new Mario, Zelda, or maybe even Metroid game on the way.

Microsoft needs to get a Halo game on the Xbox One, and it will spend E3 showing everyone how it plans to do just that. Halo 5: Guardians has been confirmed and will be coming, and we could see the first actual gameplay at the show. Besides Halo 5, expect more previews of Insomniac Games's Xbox One exclusive Sunset Overdrive, which combines the mindless mutated hordes of Dead Rising with the manic platforming and insane weapons of Ratchet and Clank.

Sony will certainly have some exclusive titles at E3, but that won't be its main thrust. This year, expect Sony to promote its PlayStation Now streaming game service, which promises to finally deliver classic PlayStation games to the PlayStation 4, along with certain Sony HDTVs and other products. We might finally see the announcement of a North American release of the PS Vita TV at the show, as well. Besides those tech toys, expect closer looks at the long-postponed Driveclub and the announcement of a new Uncharted game.

Lots of SequelsWell, that's just obvious. The biggest games at E3 will be sequels, that much is certain. There will probably be some new blood from either publishers looking to take a risk or indie developers doing exactly what they do best, but the biggest names will have numbers after them. Or subtitles. Or not numbers, but still be the next version of the game (I'm looking at you, Super Smash Bros.).

Besides the certain sequels, we might see new announcements. Fallout 4, which supposedly takes place in Boston, has yet to be announced. We know a new Uncharted game is coming, but there are no details about it. Again, don't be surprised if Nintendo teases a new game from its big three. And maybe a new Mega Man from Capcom? Probably not.

Virtual Reality?The Oculus Rift still doesn't have a consumer version anywhere on the horizon, but the new 1080p-capable Development Kit 2 will be at E3 so Oculus VR can show off upcoming full games designed with Oculus Rift support in mind. The WWII aerial combat game War Thunder will be on the Rift, along with Words With Friends creator Paul Bettner's upcoming virtual reality game Lucky's Tale and Eagle Dynamic's Digital Combat Simulator flight sim.

Besides the Oculus, Sony might make an announcement about VR support and the PlayStation 4. It's working on its own "Project Morpheus" VR headset, and E3 would be the perfect time to announce availability, support, or pricing.

Indie GamesIndie games have picked up an incredible amount of speed thanks to digital distribution and crowdfunding, and E3 will certainly have a handful of compelling titles from small developers. IndieCade, the International Festival of Independent Games, will showcase more than 30 titles from independent developers, and any of them could capture the gaming community's attention.

Homages From the MastersWhile the indie status of some of them are debatable, several upcoming titles stand out as spiritual successors to beloved game series being directed by the visionaries that crafted those series.

The Evil Within is Resident Evil 4 creator Shinji Mikami's upcoming Bethesda Softworks-published survival horror game that looks to be the nod towards classic Resident Evil-style survival horror the series itself seems to have lost while shifting towards action.

Mighty No. 9 is Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune's not-Mega-Man-but-Mega-Man game that broke through all Kickstarter goals and is shaping up to be a compelling story of a blue robot that takes powers from enemies and isn't from Capcom.

While less likely to be present at E3, we might hear more from the western RPGs Torment: Tides of Numenera and Shroud of the Avatar, which are spiritual sequels to Planescape: Torment and Ultima and are being respectively produced by some of the original Planescape: Torment developers and Ultima creator Richard Garriott himself.

Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for a decade, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. His work and analysis has been seen in GamePro, Tested.com, Geek.com, and several other publications. He currently covers consumer electronics in the PC Labs as the in-house home entertainment expert, reviewing TVs, media hubs, speakers, headphones, and gaming accessories. Will is also an ISF Level II-certified TV calibrator, which ensures the thoroughness and accuracy of all PCMag TV reviews....
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